Dynamic location-based media collection aggregation

ABSTRACT

A cloud-based media aggregation system that aggregates media collections of geographically proximate users is disclosed. In one embodiment, the media aggregation system determines that a first user and one or more second users are geographically proximate to one another. In response, the media aggregation system dynamically aggregates at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The media aggregation system may control an extent of the aggregation based on pre-defined criteria.

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/387,728, filed Sep. 29, 2010, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AGGREGATING MUSIC IN THE CLOUD, which was filed ______, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to aggregating media collection catalogs of users.

BACKGROUND

Today, applications such as Apple® iTunes® enable users to share their media collections over a Local Area Network (LAN). However, these applications have significant shortcomings in that they are restricted by the network boundaries of the LAN. For example, once a user device is disconnected from the LAN, the media items stored by that user device are no longer accessible to the other user devices connected to the LAN. Likewise, the user device that has disconnected from the LAN no longer has access to the media items stored by the other user devices that are connected to the LAN. Thus, there is a need for a system and method for sharing media collections that are not limited by network boundaries.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to cloud-based systems and methods for aggregating media collections of users. In one embodiment, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user, a cloud-based media aggregation system identifies one or more second users that have an identifier that is the same as an identifier of the first user for purposes of media collection aggregation. The media aggregation system then aggregates media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to thereby provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user.

In another embodiment, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user, a cloud-based media aggregation system identifies one or more second users that have a same base network as the first user for purposes of media collection aggregation. In one embodiment, the base network is a Local Area Network (LAN). The media aggregation system then aggregates media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user regardless of whether user devices of the first user and the one or more second users are connected to the base network to thereby provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user.

In one embodiment, after generating the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user, the media aggregation system stores the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. In addition or alternatively, the media aggregation system sends the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user to the user device of the first user for utilization at the first user's user device. For example, the user device may play media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog, create a playlist of media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the first user to browse media items in the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the first user to select a media item from the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, enable the first user to create a playlist of media items from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the first user to purchase media items in the aggregate media collection catalog, and/or the like.

In another embodiment, a cloud-based media aggregation system determines that a first user and one or more second users are geographically proximate to one another. In response, the media aggregation system dynamically aggregates at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The media aggregation system may control an extent of the aggregation based on pre-defined criteria. In one embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog is stored. In addition or alternatively, the aggregate media collection catalog is sent to a user device of the first user for utilization by the user device of the first user. In one embodiment, the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users are retained in the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user at least temporarily after the first user and the one or more second users are no longer geographically proximate to one another.

In yet another embodiment, a cloud-based media aggregation system determines that a user device of a first user and user devices of one or more second users are connected to the same Local Area Network (LAN). In response, the media aggregation system dynamically aggregates at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The media aggregation system may control an extent of the aggregation based on pre-defined criteria. In one embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog is stored. In addition or alternatively, the aggregate media collection catalog is sent to a user device of the first user for utilization by the user device of the first user. In one embodiment, the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users are retained in the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user at least temporarily after the user device of the first user disconnects from the LAN.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURES

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a Cloud-based Media Aggregation System (CMAS) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate the operation of the CMAS of FIG. 1 to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of a user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the CMAS of FIG. 1 to aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user with media collection catalogs of one or more second users having the same base network as the first user to thereby provide an aggregate media collection of the first user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process for aggregating media collection catalogs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5 and 6 graphically illustrate the process of FIG. 4 for three exemplary media collection catalogs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of the CMAS of FIG. 1 to dynamically aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user and media collection catalogs of one or more second users that are geographically proximate to the first user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of the CMAS of FIG. 1 to dynamically aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user and media collection catalogs of one or more second users that are geographically proximate to the first user according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of the CMAS of FIG. 1 to dynamically aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user and media collection catalogs of one or more second users having user devices that are connected to the same Local Area Network (LAN) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of the CMAS of FIG. 1 to proactively aggregate media collection catalogs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a server computer hosting the CMAS of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of one of the user devices of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

The present disclosure relates to cloud-based systems and methods for aggregating media collections of users. In one embodiment, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user, a cloud-based media aggregation system identifies one or more second users that have an identifier that is the same as an identifier of the first user for purposes of media collection aggregation. The media aggregation system then aggregates media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to thereby provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The common identifier of the first and the one or more second users may, as discussed below, be the identifier of the same base network identified for purposes of media collection aggregation. However, the common identifier of the first and second users is not limited thereto. Other types of identifiers may be used for media collection aggregation. For example, the common identifier of the first and second users may be an identifier used by the first and the one or more second users for a service such as, for example, the Apple iTunes® Store. Other types of identifiers will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure and such identifiers are considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 in which media collections can be aggregated “in the cloud” according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In general, the system 10 includes a Cloud-based Media Aggregation System (CMAS) 12 and a number of user devices 14-1 through 14-N (generally referred to herein collectively as user devices 14 and individually as user device 14) having associated users 16-1 through 16-N (generally referred to herein collectively as users 16 and individually as user 16) where both the CMAS 12 and the user devices 14 are connected to or enabled to connect to a network 18. The network 18 is preferably a distributed, public network such as the Internet, but is not limited thereto. Further, the network 18 may include wired and/or wireless components.

The CMAS 12 is implemented as a single server computer or as a number of server computers operating in a collective fashion for purposes of load sharing and/or redundancy. The CMAS 12 includes an aggregation function 20 and a user accounts repository 22. The aggregation function 20 is preferably, but not necessarily, implemented in software and executed by a controller (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU)) of the server computer(s) implementing the CMAS 12. In general, the aggregation function 20 operates to manage the user accounts repository 22 and, as discussed below, aggregate media collections of the users 16.

The user accounts repository 22 generally operates to store a user account for each of the users 16. In one embodiment, the users 16 may be required to establish user accounts at the CMAS 12 via, for example, a registration process. Each user account preferably includes a local media collection catalog that includes a listing of media items in a local media collection stored by the user device 14 of the user 16. In addition, in some embodiments, the user 16 may have more than one user device in which case the user account of the user 16 may include a local media collection catalog for each of the user devices 14 of the user 16. Further, as discussed below, the user account of the user 16 also includes an aggregate media collection catalog for the user 16.

The user devices 14 may each be any type of user device having networking and media playback capabilities. For example, each of the user devices 14 may be a personal computer, a portable media player such as an Apple® iPod® media player, a mobile telecommunications device such as an Apple® iPhone®, a tablet computer such as an Apple® iPad® device, a set-top box, or the like. As illustrated, the user devices 14-1 through 14-N include media player functions 24-1 through 24-N (generally referred to herein collectively as media player functions 24 and individually as media player function 24) and local media collections 26-1 through 26-N (generally referred to herein collectively as local media collections 26 and individually as local media collection 26), respectively. In this exemplary embodiment, CMAS clients 28-1 through 28-N (generally referred to herein collectively as CMAS clients 28 and individually as CMAS client 28) are embedded within the media player functions 24-1 through 24-N, respectively.

For each of the user devices 14, the corresponding media player function 24 may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof and generally operates to provide playback of media items from the local media collection 26 and, as discussed below, media items from an aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 obtained from the CMAS 12. In this exemplary embodiment, the CMAS client 28 is embedded within the media player function 24. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The CMAS client 28 may alternatively be implemented separately from the media player function 24. For example, the CMAS client 28 may be implemented as a plug-in for the media player function 24.

As discussed below, the CMAS client 28 generally operates to interact with the CMAS 12 to obtain and update an aggregate media collection catalog for the user 16. The aggregate media collection catalog generally includes an aggregate listing of media items in the local media collection 26 stored by the user device 14 of the user 16 and one of the following: (1) media items in one or more of the local media collections 26 stored by the user devices 14 of one or more other users 16 and (2) media items in aggregate media collection catalogs of one or more other users 16. In addition, if the user 16 has more than one user device 14, the aggregate listing of media items may also include media items in the local media collections 26 stored by each of the other user devices 14 of the user 16. The media player function 24 may then utilize the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16. For example, the media player function 24 may play a media item from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically create a playlist of media items from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to select a media item for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to create a playlist of media items from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to purchase a media item in the aggregate media collection catalog, and/or the like.

The local media collection 26 includes a number of media items stored locally by the user device 14. These media items may include media items previously purchased by the user 16 from a remote media distribution service such as, for example, the Apple® iTunes® store. In addition or alternatively, the local media collection 26 may include media items imported from Compact Discs (CDs), Digital Video Discs (DVD), and/or the like. As used herein, a media item is an audio content item such as a song, audio book, or audio podcast; a video content item such as a movie, episode of a television program, or a video clip; or the like.

Before proceeding, it should be noted that while in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 all of the user devices 14 store local media collections 26, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. One or more of the user devices 14 may not store a local media collection 28, but may still obtain aggregate media collections for the corresponding users 16 from the CMAS 12. The aggregate media collections of those users 16 may include an aggregate listing of media items from the local media collections 26 stored by the user devices 14 of two or more other users 16, media items from the aggregate media collections of two or more other users 16, and/or media items from the local media collections 26 of one or more other user devices 14 of those users 16.

FIGS. 2A through 2D provide an overview of the operation of the CMAS 12 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, a number of the user devices 14, namely, the user devices 14-1 through 14-3, are located at a user premises 30. The user premises 30 is generally a house, building, or other site at which users can be located. Some exemplary user premises 30 are a house, an office building, or the like. The user premises 30 includes a Local Area Network (LAN) 32 connected to the network 18. The LAN 32 may be, for example, a wireless LAN (e.g., an IEEE 802.11x wireless LAN), an Ethernet LAN, or a combination thereof. The user devices 14-1 through 14-3 are connected to the LAN 32 and are enabled to communicate with the CMAS 12 over the network 18 via the LAN 32.

As discussed below in detail, the user devices 14-1 through 14-3 are registered with the CMAS 12. The CMAS clients 28-1 through 28-3 of the user devices 14-1 through 14-3 upload the local media collection catalogs for the local media collections 26-1 through 26-3 stored by the user devices 14-1 through 14-3 of the users 16-1 through 16-3 to the CMAS 12 where the local media collection catalogs are stored in the user accounts of the users 16-1 through 16-3. In addition, the LAN 32 is identified as a base network of the users 16-1 through 16-3. For example, in one embodiment, the user premises 30 is a home of the users 16-1 through 16-3, and the users 16-1 through 16-3 identify the LAN 32 as their base network. Alternatively, the CMAS 12 may automatically identify the base network of the users 16-1 through 16-3 by, for example, detecting that the user devices 14-1 through 14-3 of the users 16-1 through 16-3 are typically connected to the LAN 32.

The CMAS 12 aggregates the local media collection catalog for the user device 14-1 of the user 16-1 with the local media collection catalogs for the user devices 14-2 and 14-3 of the other users 16-2 and 16-3 having the same base network to provide the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-1. Likewise, the CMAS 12 aggregates the local media collection catalog for the user device 14-2 of the user 16-2 with the local media collection catalogs for the user devices 14-1 and 14-3 of the other users 16-1 and 16-3 having the same base network to provide the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-2. In addition, the CMAS 12 aggregates the local media collection catalog for the user device 14-3 of the user 16-3 with the local media collection catalogs for the user devices 14-1 and 14-2 of the other users 16-1 and 16-2 having the same base network to provide the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3.

Importantly, the CMAS 12 enables the users 16-1 through 16-3 to maintain their aggregate media collection catalogs even if the users 16-1 through 16-3 leave the user premises 30 and are no longer connected to the LAN 32. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, the user device 14-3, in this example, is a mobile device such as a mobile smartphone, notebook computer, or tablet computer, and the user 16-3 leaves the user premises 30 taking the user device 14-3 with him. However, even though the user device 14-3 is no longer connected to the LAN 32, the CMAS 12 enables the aggregate media collections of the users 16-1 through 16-3 to remain as if the user device 14-3 were still connected to the LAN 32. Thus, the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16-1 and 16-2 still include the media items from the local media collection 26-3 of the user device 14-3 of the user 16-3, and the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 still includes the media items from the local media collections 26-1 and 26-2 of the user devices 14-1 and 14-2 of the users 16-1 and 16-2. Further, the users 16-1 and 16-2 of the user devices 14-1 and 14-2 are still enabled to access media items that are in the local media collection 26-3 stored by the user device 14-3 and vice versa. As discussed below, the media items may be obtained directly from the corresponding user device 14, obtained from the corresponding user device 14 via the CMAS 12, obtained from a media item repository of the CMAS 12, or obtained from a third-party media delivery service (e.g., a subscription music or video service).

Continuing the example of FIG. 2B, assume that the user 16-3 comes within geographic proximity to user 16-4 as illustrated in FIG. 2C. In FIG. 2C, the users 16-3 and 16-4 are determined to be in geographic proximity because the user device 14-4 of the user 16-4 is within a local wireless coverage area 34 of the user device 14-3. In one specific embodiment, the local wireless coverage area 34 corresponds to a range of a Bluetooth® transceiver of the user device 14-3, which is preferably a Class 2 Bluetooth® transceiver having a range of approximately 10 meters or a Class 3 Bluetooth® transceiver having a range of approximately 1 meter. In one alternative embodiment, the CMAS 12 obtains geographic locations of the user devices 14-3 and 14-4 either from the user devices 14-3 or 14-4 or a third-party location service and determines that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are within geographic proximity of one another if the users 16-3 and 16-4 have a predefined spatial relationship. The predefined spatial relationship may be that a distance between the users 16-3 and 16-4 is less than a predefined distance such as, for example, 10 meters. However, the predefined spatial relationship is not limited thereto. As another example, the predefined spatial relationship may be that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are in a crowd of users as determined via a spatial crowd formation process such as that disclosed in commonly owned and assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198828, entitled FORMING CROWDS AND PROVIDING ACCESS TO CROWD DATA IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0197318, entitled ANONYMOUS CROWD TRACKING, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198826, entitled MAINTAINING A HISTORICAL RECORD OF ANONYMIZED USER PROFILE DATA BY LOCATION FOR USERS IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198917, entitled CROWD FORMATION FOR MOBILE DEVICE USERS, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198870, entitled SERVING A REQUEST FOR DATA FROM A HISTORICAL RECORD OF ANONYMIZED USER PROFILE DATA IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198862, entitled HANDLING CROWD REQUESTS FOR LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0197319, entitled MODIFYING A USER'S CONTRIBUTION TO AN AGGREGATE PROFILE BASED ON TIME BETWEEN LOCATION UPDATES AND EXTERNAL EVENTS, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Once the users 16-3 and 16-4 are determined to be in geographic proximity to one another, the CMAS 12 aggregates at least a portion of a media collection catalog of the user 16-4 with the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. The media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is either the local media collection catalog for the user device 14-4 of the user 16-4 or the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-4. In this manner, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 is now an aggregate of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14-1 and 14-2 of the other users 16-1 and 16-2 having the same base network and at least a portion of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4.

An extent to which the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 may be controlled by the CMAS 12 based on one or more predefined criteria. The one or more predefined criteria may include, for example, an amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 have been or are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another, a location or type of location (e.g., a Point of Interest (POI) or a type of POI) at which the users 16-3 and 16-4 are located, a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like. More specifically, the CMAS 12 may track the amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 remain in geographic proximity to one another. Initially, only a portion of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 may be aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. For example, only those media item entries from the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 that most closely match predefined media preferences of the user 16-3 may be aggregated. The predefined media preferences of the user 16-3 may be stored in the user account of the user 16-3 and obtained using any suitable technology (e.g., manually by the user 16-3 and/or based on an analysis of the local media collection catalog of the user device 14-3 of the user 16-3). Then, as the amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are in geographic proximity to one another increases, more of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 may be aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3.

In addition or alternatively, the CMAS 12 may determine an amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another and then select all or a portion of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 to aggregate into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 based on the amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another. For example, if the users 16-3 and 16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another for a short amount of time (e.g., less than 10 minutes), then the CMAS 12 may select a portion of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 that most closely matches predefined media preferences of the user 16-3 to aggregate into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. In contrast, if the users 16-3 and 16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another for a long amount of time (e.g., greater than 1 hour), then the CMAS 12 may aggregate the entire media collection catalog of the user 16-4 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3.

The CMAS 12 may use any appropriate technique for determining the amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another. For example, the CMAS 12 may maintain or otherwise have access to historical information regarding previous geographic locations of the users 16-3 and 16-4 with corresponding time stamps that define times at which the users 16-3 and 16-4 were at those previous geographic locations. Using this information, the CMAS 12 may determine whether the users 16-3 and 16-4 have previously been located at their current locations and, if so, the amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 have historically remained at their current location. As another example, the CMAS 12 may have access to electronic calendars of the users 16-3 and 16-4. If the users 16-3 and 16-4 are currently scheduled to participate in a meeting scheduled for one hour, then the CMAS 12 may determine that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity for one hour. Again, the exemplary techniques for determining the amount of time that the users 16-3 and 16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity discussed above are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other suitable techniques may be used.

The CMAS 12 may additionally or alternatively use a POI or POI type that corresponds to the geographic locations of the users 16-3 and 16-4 to control an extent to which the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. For instance, there may be system-defined or user-defined rules that control the extent to which the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. For example, the user 16-3 may configure a rule that states that if the user 16-3 is located at a movie theater, then only the portion of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 that most closely matches predefined media preferences of the user 16-3 is to be aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. In contrast, the user 16-3 may configure another rule that states that if the user 16-3 is located at a night club, then the entire media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is to be aggregated with the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3.

Lastly, the CMAS 12 may additionally or alternatively use a system-defined or user-configurable aggregation value to control the extent to which the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. For instance, if the aggregation value is set to a maximum value, then the entire media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. In contrast, if the aggregation value is set to a minimum value, then the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 is not aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 at all. For intermediate aggregation values, the aggregation value may control a degree to which the media item entries in the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 must match predefined media preferences of the user 16-3 before they are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3.

At some point, the users 16-3 and 16-4 are no longer geographically proximate to one another. In the preferred embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 temporarily retains the portion of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 even after the users 16-3 and 16-4 are no longer geographically proximate to one another. For instance, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 temporarily retains the portion of the media collection catalog of the user 16-4 aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 for a predefined amount of time (e.g., 1 hour) after the users 16-3 and 16-4 are no longer geographically proximate to one another. In this manner, media collection catalogs of other users that are geographically proximate to the user 16-3, such as the user 16-4, are dynamically aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3.

Continuing the example of FIG. 2C, the user 16-3 again moves such that the user 16-3 is no longer within geographic proximity to the user 16-4 but is now at a second user premises 36 as illustrated in FIG. 2D. The second user premises 36 includes a LAN 38, where user devices 14-5 through 14-7 are connected to the LAN 38. Once the user 16-3 is at the second user premises 36, the user device 14-3 connects to the LAN 38. The CMAS 12 determines or is notified that the user device 14-3 is connected to the LAN 38 and then operates to aggregate at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. The media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 are either the local media collection catalogs for the user devices 14-5 through 14-7 of the users 16-5 through 16-7 or the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7. In this manner, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 is now an aggregate of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14-1 and 14-2 of the other users 16-1 and 16-2 having the same base network and at least a portion of the media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7. An extent to which the media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 may by controlled by the CMAS 12 based on criteria such as, for example, an amount of time that the user 16-3 has been connected to the LAN 38 or is expected to be connected to the LAN 38, the second user premises 36 or user premises type (e.g., POI type), a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like.

At some point, the user 16-3 leaves the second user premises 36 such that the user device 14-3 is no longer connected to the LAN 38. In the preferred embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 temporarily retains the portion of the media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 even after the user 16-3 is no longer at the second user premises 36. For instance, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 temporarily retains the portion of the media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 for a predefined amount of time (e.g., 1 hour) after the user 16-3 has left the second user premises 36. In this manner, media collection catalogs of other users 16 at user premises other than the user premises 30 are dynamically aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3.

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1 wherein the CMAS 12 aggregates the local media collection catalogs of a group of the users 16 that have the same base network regardless of whether the user devices 14 of that group of the users 16 are currently connected to the base network according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the user device 14, and more specifically the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14, registers with the CMAS 12 (step 1000). During registration, information is provided to the CMAS 12 that identifies the user device 14 and the user 16 of the user device 14. In this example, the user 16 is new to the CMAS 12. As such, the CMAS 12 creates a user account for the user 16 (step 1002). Next, the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 generates or otherwise obtains a local media collection catalog of the user device 14 and uploads the local media collection catalog to the CMAS 12 (step 1004). The local media collection catalog includes a listing of the media items in the local media collection 26 stored at the user device 14. The CMAS client 28 may generate the local media collection catalog by examining the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 and creating corresponding media item entries in the local media collection catalog. Each media item entry in the local media collection catalog includes information that identifies a corresponding media item in the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 of the user 16 such as, for example, a name of the media item (e.g., the title of the corresponding video or song) or a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) that identifies the media item. In addition, each media item entry may include information such as, for example, a quality of the corresponding media item, a bit rate used to encode the corresponding media item, or the like. Each media item entry may also include a Uniform Resource Indicator (URI) for accessing the corresponding media item at the user device 14 or, alternatively, the CMAS 12 or a third-party media delivery service. Upon receiving the local media collection catalog from the user device 14, the CMAS 12, and more specifically the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12, stores the local media collection catalog in the user account of the user 16 of the user device 14 (step 1006).

In addition to uploading the local media collection catalog, the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 sends a base network ID for the user 16 to the CMAS 12 (step 1008). The base network ID preferably identifies a LAN that is a base network of the user 16 for purposes of media collection aggregation. The base network of the user 16 may be manually selected by the user 16 or automatically detected by the CMAS client 28. For example, the CMAS client 28 may automatically select a LAN to which the user device 14 is connected at the time of registration and/or uploading the local media collection catalog as the base network of the user 16. As another example, the CMAS client 28 may select a LAN to which the user device 14 is most often connected as the base network of the user 16. The base network ID may be any information that identifies the LAN selected as the base network. For example, the base network ID may be a network ID of the LAN. In response to receiving the base network ID, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 stores the base network ID of the user 16 in the user account of the user 16 (step 1010).

Sometime thereafter, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 identifies other users 16 that have the same base network as the user 16 (step 1012). For example, the aggregation function 20 may query or otherwise search the user accounts repository 22 using the base network ID of the base network of the user 16 to identify other users 16 that have the same base network as the user 16. Then, the aggregation function 20 aggregates the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14 of the other users 16 having the same base network as the user 16 with the local media collection catalog of the user device 14 of the user 16 to provide an aggregate media collection catalog for the user 16 (step 1014). Also, in step 1014, if the user 16 has more than one user device 14 with associated local media collections 26, the CMAS 12 may also aggregate the local media collection catalogs of the other user devices 14 of the user 16 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16. As discussed below, the aggregate media collection catalog preferably includes a primary list of unique media items among the aggregated media collection catalogs and, for each unique media item, a sub-list that contains each instance of the unique media item in the aggregated media collection catalog.

The aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is stored in the user account of the user 16 and sent to the user device 14 of the user 16 (steps 1016 and 1018). Notably, the aggregate media collection catalog sent to the user device 14 is preferably the same aggregate media collection catalog stored for the user 16 (e.g., includes both primary list and sub-lists). However, in an alternative embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog sent to the user device 14 is a simplified version of the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 stored by the CMAS 12. For instance, the version of the aggregate media collection catalog sent to the user device 14 may include only the primary list of unique media items or a simplified version of the primary list that generally lists the unique media items and indicates whether each unique media item is stored locally or remotely.

Lastly, the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 utilizes the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 1020). For instance, the CMAS client 28 may present the aggregate media collection catalog to the user 16, enable the user 16 to browse the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to create a playlist of media items from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to select a media item for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically select media items for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically generate playlists using the media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to purchase a media item listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that is not already owned by the user 16, and/or the like. Notably, the aggregate media collection catalog is preferably presented to and utilized by the user 16 as one single consolidated, or united, media collection rather than several separate media collections.

With respect to obtaining media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are stored locally in the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 are obtained and played from local storage of the user device 14. In contrast, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are not stored locally in the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 are obtained from a remote source. The remote source may be another user device 14 from whose media collection catalog the media item originates, the CMAS 12, or a third-party media delivery service. Further, if the remote source is a source other than the CMAS 12, the user device 14 may obtain the media item from the remote source either directly using information (e.g., a URI) included in the aggregate media collection catalog or via the CMAS 12.

Notably, using the process of FIG. 3, the local media collection catalogs of the other users 16 having the same base network as the user 16 are aggregated with the local media collection 26 of the user 16 regardless of whether the user device 14 of the user 16 or the user devices 14 of the other users 16 are connected to the base network. As such, the user 16 has access to the media items in the local media collections 26 of the user devices 14 of the other users 16 that have the same base network even when the user device 14 of the user 16 is not connected to the base network and/or when the user devices 14 of the one or more of the other users 16 are not connected to the base network.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed illustration of step 1014 of FIG. 3 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. First, the aggregation function 20 stores the local media collection catalog for the user device 14 of the user 16 as the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 2000). Next, the aggregation function 20 obtains, or gets, a first media collection catalog for aggregation (step 2002). More specifically, as discussed above, the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14 of the other users 16 having the same base network as the user 16 are identified as media collection catalogs for aggregation. In addition, any other local media collection catalogs of any other user devices 14 of the user 16 may also be identified as media collection catalogs for aggregation. Then, in step 2002, one of the identified media collection catalogs is selected as the first media collection catalog for aggregation.

Next, the aggregation function 20 obtains, or gets, a first media item entry from the media collection catalog for aggregation (step 2004). As discussed above, the media item entry includes information identifying the corresponding media item such as, for example, the GUID, title, or similar information identifying the media item. In addition, the media item entry may include information regarding a quality of the media item, a bitrate used to encode the media item, and an availability of the media item. Still further, the media item entry may include information identifying a source of the media item, such as information identifying the user device 14 on which the media item is stored or information identifying the corresponding user 16.

Next, the aggregation function 20 determines whether the media item identified by the media item entry already exists in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 2006). In this embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog is formed by a primary list including a media item entry for each unique media item in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16. In addition, the aggregate media collection catalog may include a sub-list for each media item entry in the primary list including an entry for each occurrence of the corresponding media item in the local media collection catalog of the user 16 and the media collection catalogs identified for aggregation. For example, if a particular media item is included in the local media collections of two different users 16, the corresponding sub-list in the aggregate media collection catalog will include two entries for the media item where one entry corresponds to the media item in the local media collection 26 of one of the two users 16 and the other entry corresponds to the media item in the local media collection 26 of the other of the two users 16.

If the media item identified by the media item entry is already included in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16, the process proceeds to step 2010. Otherwise, the aggregation function 20 creates a media item entry in the primary list of the aggregate media collection catalog for the media item identified by the media item entry (step 2008). At this point, whether proceeding from step 2006 or 2008, a media item entry is created in the appropriate sub-list for the particular copy of the media item corresponding to the media item entry in the media collection catalog currently being processed (step 2010).

In this embodiment, the media item in the media collection catalog currently being processed is scored in order to determine which media item entry from the sub-list for the media item is to be referenced or included in the primary list for the aggregate media collection catalog (step 2012). More specifically, in one embodiment, the media item identified by the media item entry in the sub-list is scored based on quality, bitrate, availability, and/or the like. Then, based on the scores of the media item entries in the sub-list for the media item, the sub-list is sorted (step 2014). The media item entry in the sorted sub-list having the highest score is then used as the media item entry for the corresponding media item in the primary list for the aggregate media collection catalog.

The aggregation function 20 then determines whether there are more media item entries in the media collection catalog being processed for aggregation (step 2016). If so, the aggregation function 20 obtains, or gets, the next media item entry from the media collection catalog (step 2018) and returns to step 2006. The process is repeated until the last media item entry in the media collection catalog is processed. Once the last media item entry is processed, the aggregation function 20 determines whether there are more media collection catalogs to aggregate (step 2020). If so, the aggregation function 20 obtains, or gets, the next media collection catalog for aggregation (step 2022) and returns to step 2004. The process is repeated until the last media collection catalog identified for aggregation is processed to provide the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16. Once the last media collection catalog is processed for aggregation, the process ends (step 2024).

FIGS. 5 and 6 graphically illustrate the process of FIG. 4 to aggregate the local media collection catalog of the user 16-1 and the local media collection catalogs of two other users 16-2 and 16-3 (generally referred to as user A and user B) having the same base network as the user 16-1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates the local media collection catalog of the user device 14-1 of the user 16-1 and the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14-2 and 14-3 of the other two users 16-2 and 16-3 having the same base network as the user 16-1. In this example, the local media collection catalog of the user device 14-1 of the user 16-1 includes media items A, B, and C, the local media collection catalog of the user device 14-2 of the user 16-2 includes media items A, D, and E, and the local media collection catalog of the user device 14-3 of the user 16-3 includes media items A, B, and D. For each media item, the corresponding media collection catalog includes a media item entry including an identifier of the media item (MEDIA ITEM X), information identifying a quality of the media item, information identifying a bitrate used when encoding the media item, information regarding the availability of the media item, and information identifying a source of the media item.

FIG. 6 illustrates the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-1 resulting from the aggregation of the local media collection catalogs of FIG. 5 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the aggregate media collection catalog is formed by, or represented by, a primary list 40 including a media item entry for each unique media item in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-1. Sub-lists 42-1 through 42-5 include a media item entry for each occurrence of the corresponding unique media items in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-1. Thus, in this example, since media item A is included in the local media collection catalog of the user device 14-1 of the user 16-1 and each of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14-2 and 14-3 of the users 16-2 and 16-3, the sub-list 42-1 includes three media item entries, each of which corresponds, or represents, one of the occurrences of media item A. Likewise, the sub-lists 42-2 through 42-5 are provided for the remaining media item entries in the primary list 40. The media items represented by the media item entries in the sub-lists 42-1 through 42-5 are scored based on quality, bitrate, and availability. Then, based on the scores, the sub-lists 42-1 through 42-5 are sorted such that, for each of the sub-lists 42-1 through 42-5, the media item entry representing the media item having the highest score is utilized as, or referenced by, the corresponding media item entry in the primary list 40.

FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1 to provide dynamic media collection aggregation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As discussed above with respect to FIG. 2C, in one embodiment, the CMAS 12 dynamically aggregates media collection catalogs of users 16 that are in geographic proximity. More specifically, in this embodiment, the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 detects one or more other user devices 14 that are geographically proximate to the user device 14 (step 3000). The manner in which the CMAS client 28 detects the other user devices 14 that are geographically proximate to the user device 14 may vary. In one embodiment, a local wireless discovery process is utilized. For example, a Class 2 or Class 3 Bluetooth® transceiver of the user device 14 may perform a Bluetooth® discovery process to discover the other user devices 14 that are within range of the Bluetooth® transceiver of the user device 14 and therefore determined to be geographically proximate to the user device 14. Other wireless technologies may alternatively be used. The users 16 of the other user devices 14 that are geographically proximate to the user device 14 of the user 16 are identified as the other users 16 that are geographically proximate to the user 16 of the user device 14. Notably, this association between the geographically proximate user devices 14 and the users 16 of those user devices 14 may be determined by the CMAS client 28 (e.g., the CMAS client 28 may obtain the user IDs of the users 16 from the geographically proximate user devices 14) or may be determined by the CMAS 12.

Next, the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 sends device IDs of the other user devices 14 detected in step 3000 and/or user IDs of the users 16 of the other user devices 14 detected in step 3000 to the CMAS 12 (step 3002). The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 then aggregates at least a portion of the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 (i.e., the users 16 of the geographically proximate user devices 14) with the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16, thereby dynamically updating the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 3004). The aggregation function 20 may control an extent to which the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 based on one or more predefined criteria. The one or more predefined criteria may include, for example, an amount of time that the geographically proximate users 16 have been or are expected to be in geographic proximity to the user 16, a location or type of location (e.g., a POI or a type of POI) at which the users 16 are located, a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like, as discussed above. Notably, media item entries for media items aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 that closely match predefined user preferences of the user 16 or are otherwise known to be of interest to the user 16 but that have seldom or never been available to the user 16 may be highlighted in the aggregate media collection catalog.

The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 stores the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 resulting from step 3004 and sends the aggregate media collection catalog to the user device 14 (steps 3006 and 3008). The CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 then utilizes the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 3010). For instance, the CMAS client 28 may present the aggregate media collection catalog to the user 16, enable the user 16 to browse the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to create a playlist of media items from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to select a media item for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically select media items for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically generate playlists using the media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to purchase a media item listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that is not already owned by the user 16, and/or the like. Notably, the aggregate media collection catalog is preferably presented to and utilized by the user 16 as one single consolidated, or united, media collection rather than several separate media collections.

With respect to obtaining media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are stored locally in the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 are obtained and played from local storage of the user device 14. In contrast, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are not stored locally in the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 are obtained from a remote source. The remote source may be another user device 14 from whose media collection catalog the media item originates, the CMAS 12, or a third-party media delivery service. Further, if the remote source is a source other than the CMAS 12, the user device 14 may obtain the media item from the remote source either directly using information (e.g., a URI) included in the aggregate media collection catalog or via the CMAS 12.

In this embodiment, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 updates the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 over time to include more of the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 (step 3012). For example, the media items listed in the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 may be scored based on predefined media preferences of the user 16. Initially, only the media item entries for media items scored above a threshold value may be aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16. Over time, the threshold value is decreased such that more and more of the media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16. As the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is updated, updates to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is sent to the user device 14 for utilization by the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 as described above (step 3014).

Sometime thereafter, the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 detects that one or more of the other user devices 14 detected in step 3000 are no longer geographically proximate to the user device 14 (step 3016). In response, the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 notifies the CMAS 12 that those user devices 14, or alternatively the users 16 of those user devices 14, are no longer geographically proximate to the user device 14 (step 3018). The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 then de-aggregates the local and/or aggregate media collection catalog(s) of the users 16 that are no longer geographically proximate to the user 16 from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 3020). More specifically, the media item entries in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 that are from the media collection catalogs being de-aggregated are removed from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16. Notably, in one embodiment, personalized metadata (e.g., ratings of the corresponding media items by the user 16, playcounts of corresponding media items by the user 16, metadata defined for the corresponding media items by the user 16, and/or the like) may be retained. With respect to personalized metadata, the interested reader is directed to commonly owned and assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0070537, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A PERSONALIZED UNIVERSAL CATALOG OF MEDIA ITEMS, which published on Mar. 18, 2010, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for its teachings on personalized metadata.

In one embodiment, the de-aggregation is performed immediately in response to receiving the notification in step 3018. However, in the preferred embodiment, the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the one or more other users 16 are retained in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 at least temporarily after the one or more other users 16 are no longer geographically proximate to the user device 14. For example, de-aggregation may be performed after a system-defined amount of time (e.g., 1 hour) has expired after receiving the notification in step 3018. In this manner, the user 16 retains access, at least temporarily, to media items listed in the media collection catalogs of the one or more other users 16 even after the one or more other users 16 are no longer geographically proximate to the user 16. After de-aggregation, an update to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is sent to the user device 14 of the user 16 for utilization by the CMAS client 28 as described above (step 3022). Using the process of FIG. 7, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is dynamically updated with media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16 of other user devices 14 that are nearby (i.e., geographically proximate).

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1 to provide dynamic media collection aggregation according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. This embodiment is substantially the same as that of FIG. 7 but where the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 determines when the users 16 are geographically proximate to one another based on geographic locations of the users 16. More specifically, first, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 detects that one or more other users 16 are geographically proximate to the user 16 of the user device 14 based on geographic locations of the user 16 (step 4000). The CMAS 12 may obtain the geographic locations of the users 16 from the user devices 14, from a third-party location service (e.g., a social networking service having a location feature), or the like. The aggregation function 20 then aggregates at least a portion of the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16, thereby dynamically updating the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 4002). The aggregation function 20 may control an extent to which the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 based on criteria such as, for example, an amount of time that the users 16 have been or are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another, a location or type of location (e.g., a POI or a type of POI at which the users 16 are located), a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like, as discussed above. Notably, media item entries for media items aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 that closely match predefined user preferences of the user 16 or are otherwise known to be of interest to the user 16 but that have seldom or never been available to the user 16 may be highlighted in the aggregate media collection catalog.

The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 stores the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 resulting from step 4002 and sends the aggregate media collection catalog to the user device 14 (steps 4004 and 4006). The CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 then utilizes the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 4008). For instance, the CMAS client 28 may present the aggregate media collection catalog to the user 16, enable the user 16 to browse the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to create a playlist of media items from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to select a media item for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically select media items for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically generate playlists using the media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16 to purchase a media item listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that is not already owned by the user 16, and/or the like. Notably, the aggregate media collection catalog is preferably presented to and utilized by the user 16 as one single consolidated, or united, media collection rather than several separate media collections.

With respect to obtaining media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are stored locally in the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 are obtained and played from local storage of the user device 14.

In contrast, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are not stored locally in the local media collection 26 of the user device 14 are obtained from a remote source. The remote source may be another user device 14 from whose media collection catalog the media item originates, the CMAS 12, or a third-party media delivery service. Further, if the remote source is a source other than the CMAS 12, the user device 14 may obtain the media item from the remote source either directly using information (e.g., a URI) included in the aggregate media collection catalog or via the CMAS 12.

In this embodiment, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 updates the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 over time to include more of the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users 16 as discussed above (step 4010). As the aggregated media collection catalog of the user 16 is updated, updates to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is sent to the user device 14 for utilization by the CMAS client 28 of the user device 14 as described above (step 4012).

Sometime thereafter, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 detects that one or more of the other users 16 detected in step 4000 are no longer geographically proximate to the user 16 of the user device 14 (step 4014). The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 then de-aggregates the local and/or aggregate media collection catalog(s) of the one or more other users 16 that are no longer geographically proximate to the user 16 from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 4016). Again, in one embodiment, the de-aggregation is performed immediately in response to detecting the one or more users 16 that are no longer geographically proximate to the user 16. However, in the preferred embodiment, de-aggregation is delayed such that the user 16 retains access to media items listed in the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the one or more other users 16 at least temporarily after the one or more other users 16 are no longer geographically proximate to the user 16. After de-aggregation, an update to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is sent to the user device 14 of the user 16 for utilization by the CMAS client 28 as described above (step 4018). Using the process of FIG. 8, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 is dynamically updated with media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16 of other user devices 14 that are nearby (i.e., geographically proximate).

FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1 to provide dynamic media collection aggregation according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. As discussed above with respect to FIG. 2D, in one embodiment, the CMAS 12 dynamically aggregates media collection catalogs of users 16 that are connected to the same LAN even when the users 16 have different base networks. Using the scenario illustrated in FIG. 2D as an example for this discussion, the user device 14-3 connects to the LAN 38 and detects the other user devices 14-5 through 14-7 that are also connected to the LAN 38 (steps 5000 and 5002). The CMAS client 28-3 of the user device 14-3 then sends user IDs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 of the other user devices 14-5 through 14-7 that are connected to the LAN 38 or the device IDs of the other user devices 14-5 through 14-7 connected to the LAN 38 to the CMAS 12 (step 5004).

The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 then aggregates at least a portion of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14-5 through 14-7 and/or the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3, thereby dynamically updating the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 (step 5006). The aggregation function 20 may control an extent to which the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 based on criteria such as, for example, an amount of time that the user device 14-3 of the user 16-3 (and optionally the user devices 14-5 through 14-7 of the users 16-5 through 16-7) have been or are expected to be connected to the LAN 38, a location or type of location (e.g., a POI or a type of POI) of the second user premises 36 at which the LAN 38 is located, a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like, as discussed above. Notably, media item entries for media items aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 that closely match predefined user preferences of the user 16-3 or are otherwise known to be of interest to the user 16-3 but that have seldom or never been available to the user 16-3 may be highlighted in the aggregate media collection catalog.

The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 stores the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 resulting from step 5006 and sends the aggregate media collection catalog to the user device 14-3 (steps 5008 and 5010). The CMAS client 28-3 of the user device 14-3 then utilizes the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 (step 5012). For instance, the CMAS client 28-3 may present the aggregate media collection catalog to the user 16-3, enable the user 16-3 to browse the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16-3 to create a playlist of media items from the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16-3 to select a media item for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically select media items for playback from the aggregate media collection catalog, automatically generate playlists using the media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog, enable the user 16-3 to purchase a media item listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that is not already owned by the user 16-3, and/or the like. Notably, the aggregate media collection catalog is preferably presented to and utilized by the user 16-3 as one single consolidated, or united, media collection rather than several separate media collections.

With respect to obtaining media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are stored locally in the local media collection 26-3 of the user device 14-3 are obtained and played from local storage of the user device 14-3. In contrast, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are not stored locally in the local media collection 26-3 of the user device 14-3 are obtained from a remote source. The remote source may be another user device 14 from whose media collection catalog the media item originates, the CMAS 12, or a third-party media delivery service. Further, if the remote source is a source other than the CMAS 12, the user device 14-3 may obtain the media item from the remote source either directly using information (e.g., a URI) included in the aggregate media collection catalog or via the CMAS 12.

In this embodiment, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 updates the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 over time to include more of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14-5 through 14-7 and/or the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 of the user devices 14-5 through 14-7 (step 5014). For example, the media items listed in the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 may be scored based on predefined media preferences of the user 16-3. Initially, only the media item entries for media items scored above a threshold value may be aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. Over time, the threshold value is decreased such that more and more of the media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. As the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 is updated, updates to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 is sent to the user device 14-3 for utilization by the CMAS client 28-3 of the user device 14-3 as described above (step 5016).

Sometime thereafter, the user device 14-3 disconnects from the LAN 38 (step 5018), and the CMAS client 28-3 of the user device 14-3 notifies the CMAS 12 (5020). The aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 then de-aggregates the local and/or aggregate media collection catalog(s) of the users 16-5 through 16-7 from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 (step 5022). More specifically, the media item entries in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 that are from the media collection catalogs being de-aggregated are removed from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3. Notably, in one embodiment, personalized metadata (e.g., ratings of the corresponding media items by the user 16-3, playcounts of corresponding media items by the user 16-3, metadata defined for the corresponding media items by the user 16-3, and/or the like) may be retained, as discussed above.

In one embodiment, the de-aggregation is performed immediately in response to receiving the notification in step 5020. However, in the preferred embodiment, de-aggregation is delayed such that the user 16-3 retains access to the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16-5 through 16-7 at least temporarily after the user device 14-3 has disconnected from the LAN 38. Notably, when disconnected from the LAN 38, the user device 14-3 may be enabled to connect to the network 18 via, for example, a wireless cellular communications interface (e.g., a 3G or 4G wireless cellular communications interface). For example, de-aggregation may be performed after a system-defined amount of time (e.g., 1 hour) has expired after receiving the notification in step 5020. After de-aggregation, an update to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 is sent to the user device 14-3 of the user 16-3 for utilization by the CMAS client 28-3 as described above (step 5024). Using the process of FIG. 9, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16-3 is dynamically updated with media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16 of other user devices 14 that are connected to the same LAN as the user device 14 of the user 16 even if the users 16 have different base networks.

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of the CMAS 12 to optimize media collection catalog aggregation by predicting when users are expected to be geographically proximate to one another and/or when the user devices of the users are expected to be connected to the same LAN according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. First, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 determines that the user 16 of the user device 14 and one or more other users 16 of one or more other user devices 14 are expected to be either geographically proximate to one another or connected to the same LAN at a future time (step 6000). This determination may be based on any type of suitable information such as, for example:

-   -   a historical record of previous geographic locations of the         users 16,     -   a historical record of previous LAN connections of the user         devices 14 of the users 16,     -   route information defining routes being traveled by or to be         traveled by the users 16, and/or     -   calendar information from electronic calendars of the users 16         that define events (e.g., meetings) scheduled for the users 16,         dates and times for which the events are scheduled, and, in some         embodiments, other users 16 to participate in the events and/or         geographic locations at which the events are scheduled to occur.

More specifically, a historical record of previous geographic locations of the users 16 may be maintained by the CMAS 12 or may otherwise be accessible to the CMAS 12. The historical record may define the previous geographic locations of the users 16 as well as dates and/or times at which the users 16 were at those previous geographic locations. Based on the historical record, the aggregation function 20 is enabled to predict future geographic locations of the users 16 and then determine when two or more of the users 16 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another in the future. Similarly, a historical record of previous LAN connections of the user devices 14 of the users 16 may be maintained by the CMAS 12 or may otherwise be accessible to the CMAS 12. This historical record may define LANs to which the user devices 14 of the users 16 have previously been connected as well as dates and/or times at which the user devices 14 were connected to those LANs. Using this information, the aggregation function 20 is enabled to predict future LAN connections of the user devices 14 of the users 16 and then determine when the user devices 14 of two or more of the users 16 are expected to be connected to the same LAN in the future.

In addition or alternatively, the aggregation function 20 may have access to route information for traveling routes currently being traveled by or planned to be traveled by the users 16. The route information may be obtained from, for example, separate navigation systems of the users 16 (e.g., personal navigation devices or in-vehicle navigation devices) or navigation components or features of the user devices 14. Using the route information, the aggregation function 20 is enabled to determine when two or more of the users 16 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another.

In addition or alternatively, the aggregation function 20 may have access to calendar information from electronic calendars of the users 16 that defines events (e.g., meetings) scheduled for the users 16, dates and times for which the events are scheduled, and, in some embodiments, other users 16 to participate in the events and/or geographic locations at which the events are scheduled to occur. Using this calendar information, the aggregation function 20 can determine when two or more of the users 16 are scheduled to be in geographic proximity to one another in the future.

Next, the aggregation function 20 of the CMAS 12 predictively aggregates at least a portion of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices 14 of the one or more other users 16 or the aggregate media collection catalogs of the one or more other users 16 with the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 to provide a predictive aggregate media collection catalog for the user 16 (step 6002). Thereafter, the aggregation function 20 determines that the user 16 and the one or more other users 16 are geographically proximate to one another or that the user devices 14 of the user 16 and the one or more other users 16 are connected to the same LAN (step 6004). In response, the aggregation function 20 stores the predictive aggregate media collection catalog as the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 (step 6006) and sends the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16 to the user device 14 of the user 16 (step 6008).

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a server computer 44 implementing the CMAS 12 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the server computer 44 includes a controller 46 connected to memory 48, one or more secondary storage devices 50, and a communication interface 52 by a bus 54 or similar mechanism. The controller 46 is a microprocessor, digital Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, the controller 46 is a microprocessor, and the aggregation function 20 (FIG. 1) is implemented in software and stored in the memory 48 for execution by the controller 46. Further, the user accounts repository 22 (FIG. 1) may be stored in the one or more secondary storage devices 50. The secondary storage devices 50 are digital data storage devices such as, for example, one or more hard disk drives. The communication interface 52 is a wired or wireless communication interface that communicatively couples the server computer 44 to the network 18 (FIG. 1). For example, the communication interface 52 may be an Ethernet interface, local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, or the like.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of one of the user devices 14 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the user device 14 includes a controller 56 connected to memory 58, one or more secondary storage devices 60, one or more communication interfaces 62, one or more user interface components 64, and a location function 66 by a bus 68 or similar mechanism. The controller 56 is a microprocessor, digital ASIC, FPGA, or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, the controller 56 is a microprocessor, and the media player function 24 including the CMAS client 28 is implemented in software and stored in the memory 58 for execution by the controller 56. The local media collection 26 (FIG. 1) may be stored in the one or more secondary storage devices 60, which may be, for example, FLASH memory, one or more hard disk drives, or the like. The one or more communication interfaces 62 include a wired or wireless communication interface that communicatively couples the user device 14 to the network 18 (FIG. 1). For example, the one or more communication interfaces 62 may include a local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, a mobile communications interface such as a cellular telecommunications interface, or the like. The one or more communication interfaces 62 may also include a Bluetooth® interface or other local wireless interface to, for example, detect other user devices 14 that are geographically proximate to the user device 14. Note that the same local wireless interface may be utilized to both connect the user device 14 to the network 18 and detect nearby devices. The one or more user interface components 64 include, for example, a touchscreen, a display, one or more user input components (e.g., a keypad), a speaker, or the like, or any combination thereof. Lastly, the user device 14 may include, in some embodiments, a location function 66 for determining a geographical location of the user device 14. For example, the location function 64 may be a hardware component such as, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.

It should be noted that the systems and methods described herein have substantial opportunity for variation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. For example, while the discussion above primarily focuses on the aggregation of local media collection catalogs of the users 16, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In one alternative embodiment, some or all of the users 16 may have user media collections stored by a cloud-based media collection storage and possibly playback service. One such service is Amazon's Cloud Music player, which enables users to store their music collections in the cloud and then play their music from any user device having web access. If the media collections owned by the users 16 are stored by such a cloud-based service, the CMAS 12 may additionally or alternatively operate to aggregate corresponding media collection catalogs of the users 16 for the user media collections stored by the cloud-based service using the processes described herein. Further, the CMAS 12 may be integrated with a cloud-based media storage and playback service or may be separate from the cloud-based media storage and playback service. The media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users 16 may then be accessible from the cloud-based service.

As another example, while dynamic media aggregation has been described herein with respect to FIGS. 7 through 10 as aggregating media collection catalogs of other users 16 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Dynamic media aggregation may alternatively be performed without the media aggregation process of FIG. 3. In other words, the dynamic media aggregation processes described herein may aggregate media collection catalogs of other users 16 into the media collection catalog of the user 16, where the media collection catalog of the user 16 may be an aggregate media collection catalog of the user 16, a local media collection catalog of the user device 14 of the user 16, or, as discussed above, a user media collection catalog of the user 16 stored by a cloud-based service.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow. 

1. A method of operation of a server computer to generate an aggregate media collection catalog for a first user, comprising: identifying one or more second users that are geographically proximate to the first user; and in response to determining that the one or more second users are geographically proximate to the first user, dynamically aggregating at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining that at least one of the one or more second users is no longer geographically proximate to the first user; temporarily retaining the media collection catalog of the at least one of the one or more second users in the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user for a defined amount of time; and de-aggregating the media collection catalog of the at least one of the one or more second users from the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user after the defined amount of time has expired.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein dynamically aggregating at least a portion of the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user comprises controlling an extent to which the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user based on one or more predefined criteria.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise an amount of time that the first user and the one or more second users are in geographic proximity to one another.
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise an amount of time that the first user and the one or more second users are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another.
 6. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a geographic location at which the first user and the one or more second users are located.
 7. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a location type of a geographic location at which the first user and the one or more second users are located.
 8. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a system-defined aggregation value.
 9. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a user-defined aggregation value.
 10. A server computer comprising: a communication interface communicatively coupling the server computer to a network; and a controller associated with the communication interface adapted to, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user: identify one or more second users that are geographically proximate to the first user; and in response to determining that the one or more second users are geographically proximate to the first user, dynamically aggregate at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user.
 11. The server computer of claim 10 wherein the controller is further adapted to: determine that at least one of the one or more second users is no longer geographically proximate to the first user; temporarily retain the media collection catalog of the at least one of the one or more second users in the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user for a defined amount of time; and de-aggregate the media collection catalog of the at least one of the one or more second users from the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user after the defined amount of time has expired.
 12. The server computer of claim 10 wherein, in order to dynamically aggregate the at least a portion of the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user, the controller is further adapted to control an extent to which the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user based on one or more predefined criteria.
 13. The server computer of claim 12 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise an amount of time that the first user and the one or more second users are in geographic proximity to one another.
 14. The server computer of claim 12 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise an amount of time that the first user and the one or more second users are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another.
 15. The server computer of claim 12 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a geographic location at which the first user and the one or more second users are located.
 16. The server computer of claim 12 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a location type of a geographic location at which the first user and the one or more second users are located.
 17. The server computer of claim 12 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a system-defined aggregation value.
 18. The server computer of claim 12 wherein the one or more predefined criteria comprise a user-defined aggregation value.
 19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a server computer to, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user: identify one or more second users that are geographically proximate to the first user; and in response to determining that the one or more second users are geographically proximate to the first user, dynamically aggregate at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the software further instructs the controller of the server computer to: determine that at least one of the one or more second users is no longer geographically proximate to the first user; temporarily retain the media collection catalog of the at least one of the one or more second users in the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user for a defined amount of time; and de-aggregate the media collection catalog of the at least one of the one or more second users from the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user after the defined amount of time has expired.
 21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein, in order to dynamically aggregate the at least a portion of the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user, the software further instructs the controller of the server computer to control an extent to which the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user based on one or more predefined criteria. 